ETF Industry

With interest rates at home still hovering near record lows, and most central banks still pushing forth with loose monetary policy, many investors have been left yield-starved. Luckily, the ETF universe spans far and wide, and when it comes to generating income, there’s no shortage of dividend-paying instruments. MLP ETFs in particular remain a favorite among those looking to capture meaningful dividends amid the low-rate environment [see also How to Build an Income Portfolio with ETFs].

The exchange-traded fund industry has certainly come a long way since the debut of SPY in 1993. Now there are over 1,600 products to choose from, with assets totaling over $2 trillion. The rise and popularity of these products are in part thanks to their key advantages over mutual funds, which include lower expenses, intra-day tradability, and perhaps most importantly, transparency. Last week, however, the ETF industry witnessed a game-changing decision made by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) [see also How to Build an Income Portfolio with ETFs: Insights from David Fabian]. [click to continue…]

The bulls remain in the drivers’ seat as buyers managed to push major indexes higher even after the steep ascent seen last week on Wall Street. For the most part, however, many have remained on the sidelines this week in anticipation of Friday’s monthly employment report. In other data releases, investors cheered on upbeat motor […]

These days it seems like there is an ETF for just about anything you can possibly imagine. Investors have more options available at their fingertips than ever before. No matter what kind of investor you are, or where you place your focus, there is almost undoubtedly a perfect ETF for you. Below, we outline the […]

Following a very strong finish last week, the bulls managed to stick around on Wall Street over the past five trading days. The FOMC statement took center stage, which again served as a reminder that policymakers will remain accommodative in light of persistently sluggish growth and low inflation. On the data release front, investors cheered on better-than-expected GDP […]

The bulls have managed to return to Wall Street with full force, as evidenced by the steep rebound that matched the equally steep sell-off since the lows seen on October 15th. Corporate earnings season is still well underway, and for the time being, according to data compiled by FactSet, it appears that the majority of companies are […]

The bears have managed to remain in control on Wall Street as evidenced by persistent profit-taking pressures, short-lived rebounds, and an uptick in volatility. Throughout the week, investors also digested less-than-stellar economic data releases, adding to the headwinds; this included worse-than-expected retail sales and regional manufacturing data as well as a decline in the home builders […]

The year 2008 was one of the worst stretches Wall Street had seen in some time. The Great Recession was in full force and caused major benchmarks to lose as much as 30% for the calendar year. But over that time, there were a number of securities and funds that came away with positive returns. […]

Back-and-forth trading has been a dominant theme over the past week as selling pressures from the end of September have spilled over into October and are paving quite a volatile road for major equity indexes. The release of the Fed minutes on Wednesday served as fuel for the massive rally seen across Wall Street, and […]

Bearish pressures remained the dominant force on Wall Street for the past week as disappointing economic data releases failed to entice dip-buyers. Investors remained hesitant to re-enter despite the pullback, given looming geopolitical risks and worse-than-expected consumer confidence, ISM, and construction spending data; further weighing on investors’ confidence is the monthly U.S. employment report slated for […]

The S&P Equal Weight ETF (RSP) hit markets in 2003 and offered a unique spin on investing in the S&P 500. Its equal weight approach to the famed index quickly garnered attention as it outperformed the likes of SPY over a number of periods. As time has gone on, many have speculated (and even accused), […]

Major equity indexes swiftly traded lower over the past week thanks to mild profit taking pressures that led to a breach of a significant technical support level for the S&P 500 Index. As the benchmark slid below the 1,980 mark on Thursday, selling pressures accelerated and opened up the doors for the bears. Results were […]